Talk:Tony Hippolyte

Latest comment: 7 years ago by Meatsgains in topic Untitled

Untitled edit

I see that the page I created for Tony Hippolyte has been given a deletion notice by a Wiki contributor who suggests that the Subject lacks notability and coverage in reliable sources. To deal with the first part of the statement, I would say that 'notability' is a subjective attribute; in the film and acting profession in Britain there is an ongoing review of notable black actors who, despite the odds stacked against them, managed to find and create roles which went against the grain of their times. As such, Tony Hippolyte's career is being regarded in a fresh light, and he might well be featured in a BFI Black Actors season later this year. It would be odd if I had to remark that his name was removed from Wiki, due to his 'lack of notability'? Surely a case of chicken and egg; and might demonstrate why so many black actors / historical figures of the past are still 'invisible'? On the second reason given - 'lacks...coverage in reliable sources'; I have not had time to add references to foot of article, although I have provided links to IMDB etc within the article. As can be imagined - the fact that most of his career was pre-universal internet, the references in press, media etc are a bit harder to track down; but I am currently doing this. However, Tony Hippolyte's acting work is still there to see - Absolute Beginners was given a re-screening at the BFI earlier this year, with the director in conversation with one of the stars, and has been re-released (partly due to David Bowie's involvement). The film Le Bohemian Noir et la Renaissance Del Afrique (dir. Amani Napthali, 1990) is still being shown at BME / art / short film festivals in the UK. The episode of The Bill is still available online; No.73 is still well-remembered in this country (in which he was one of the very first black presenters on Saturday morning kids' TV, etc, etc.) His music work was on a more underground level, but he is clearly on works listed at Discogs (and found elsewhere online). I am aware that there is still more referencing to do, but I was under the impression that Wikipedia was an ongoing project which encourages research. I have provided a skeletal article which will provide a reference point for any authors/ biographers / film critics who are interested in the subject of black actors in British film and TV in the 1980's-1990's. If the article is removed for this reason, I will appeal - and also reserve the right to refer to the matter in the press.

You still need to add references to the article to show that he is notable. An obituary form a newspaper would be a start.--Racklever (talk) 06:22, 19 June 2016 (UTC)Reply
No need to make threats by claiming to "refer to the matter in the press". I PROD'd the page because there were zero sources. I will give you some time to add reliable sources to verify the information on the page but if no additional sources are provided, I will likely nominate the page for WP:AfD. Good luck finding sources. Meatsgains (talk) 18:38, 19 June 2016 (UTC)Reply